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Lyric Poem · Nature

Summer has two Beginnings

by Emily Dickinson

1Summer has two Beginnings —

2Beginning once in June —

3Beginning in October

4Affectingly again —

5Without, perhaps, the Riot

6But graphicker for Grace —

7As finer is a going

8Than a remaining Face —

9Departing then — forever —

10Forever — until May —

11Forever is deciduous

12Except to those who die —

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Quick facts

Poem
Summer has two Beginnings
Poet
Emily Dickinson
Length
12 lines
Form
Lyric Poem
Themes
Nature, Summer, Autumn

Craft notes

How this poem works

Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.

Shape
12 lines · 3 quatrains
End rhyme
No regular perfect end rhyme. The poem may still be using slant rhyme, assonance, or internal echo, which this check does not score.
Line length
Lines run 6-7 syllables (median 7). No single length dominates, which is normal once elision and contraction are in play.
The poem’s silhouette — approximate syllables per line, measured from the text above. Even bars mean a measured line; ragged bars mean the poem sets its own widths.

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Text, source & rights

A traceable edition

Full-text display is based on the committed source record and a United States term-expiry review.

Author record
Emily Dickinson1830–1886
Source record
PoetryDBSummer has two Beginnings by emily-dickinson, PoetryDB transcription
Display decision
Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
Publication record
Not recorded in the imported source
Text fingerprint
SHA-256 ff19aa08c481a3de
Editorial handling
Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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